Speake-Marin Dong Son Tourbillon

Dong Son Tourbillon is a wristwatch by Speake-Marin.

Model with automatic winding and tourbillon in the collection Fine Art Pieces. The watch features a red gold dial with centre intricately etched to leave a fascinating relief motif inspired by the prehistoric bronze drums of the ancient Dong Son people of Vietnam. The meticulously detailed dial is complemented by the drum-like Speake-Marin Piccadilly case in 18k red gold.

Dong Son drums are bronze drums crafted by the Dong Son culture in the Red River Delta of northern Vietnam between 600 BC and 300 AD. The Dong Son people were highly-skilled bronze casters and their drums – of which the sides and top surface were usually decorated with geometric patterns and scenes depicting daily life – are considered to represent an artistic level that very few cultures of the time could match.

The beautiful hand-finished tourbillon rotating at 6 o’clock is framed superbly by its steel guard. The eye-catching, highly polished tourbillon bridge is made from Durnico steel, chosen for its superior strength.

The tourbillon has played an important role in the story of Speake-Marin. The first timepiece to bear the Speake-Marin name was the Foundation Watch, a hand-made pocket watch. The watchmaker’s topping tool wheel motif in the Speake-Marin logo, which first appeared in the tourbillon cage of the Foundation Watch, can also be seen in the tourbillon cage of the Dong Son Tourbillon.

Peter Speake-Marin says: “The tourbillon is one of the things that I love most about watchmaking because of the animation it gives to the dial. It shows time moving in a way that a minute-repeater or grande sonnerie can’t offer. For me, it is something profound.”